TORONTO, ON, Friday, June 23, 2023: Your Toronto Zoo is proud to celebrate our 10th year releasing juvenile Blanding’s turtles into the Rouge National Urban Park! This collaborative initiative, co-led by your Toronto Zoo and Parks Canada, is part of recovery efforts to conserve this endangered species in the Greater Toronto Area.

This year, with support from Ontario Power Generation, the team released 55 two-year-olds, bringing the total number of Blanding’s turtles released over the last 10 years to over 650. This is an important landmark in working towards the goal of re-establishing a self-sustaining Blanding’s turtle population.

What is the Blanding’s Turtle Head Start Program, and why is it important?

The Rouge River watershed has changed drastically over the past 200 years, and this has had major consequences for the animals that live there. Historically, this area was home to the Blanding’s turtle, which is currently a federally endangered species. In the 1990s, fewer than 10 adult Blanding’s turtles were found in the area that is now the Rouge National Urban Park, which is not nearly enough to support a healthy population. As a result, our head-start program began. 

The Blanding’s turtles released through this program each year are two-year-olds, to ensure they are big and strong enough to thrive in their new environment. Each June, eggs are collected from stable source populations in Ontario, and are then incubated for around two months to ensure proper development, and to keep them safe from predators at such a vulnerable stage. Once they hatch, these tiny turtles spend their first year in the Americas Pavilion where guests can visit them, and after their first birthday they move to the Wildlife Healthcare Centre to spend their days swimming and sunning themselves under UV lights. Once they reach two years of age, the turtles move to the Wildlife Health Centre’s outdoor enclosures to acclimate to the elements, like daily weather changes, sounds, and sights, to prepare them for release. The release takes place in different locations each year and is kept top-secret to mitigate the threat of poaching.

“Your Toronto Zoo envisions a world where wildlife and wild spaces thrive” says Dolf DeJong, CEO, Toronto Zoo. “Saving this endangered species in our community is a long journey and reaching the 10th year of our commitment to this cause alongside our amazing Parks Canada and Toronto and Region Conservation Authority partners is a wonderful example of working together to create long-term change.”

“On the 10th anniversary of the Blanding’s Turtle Head Start program, Parks Canada is proud to celebrate its commitment to protecting and restoring species at risk and their habitat in Rouge National Urban Park,” said Ron Hallman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Parks Canada. “The Head Start program demonstrates ambitious action to safeguard and maintain biodiversity in urban areas. Parks Canada, the Toronto Zoo and the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority are leaders in conservation, fostering resilient and healthy ecosystems that play an integral role in the fight against climate change.”

The Turtle with the Sun Under its Chin

Each year, Blanding’s turtles are released into Rouge National Urban Park in June to commemorate National Indigenous Heritage Month in Canada, which is a time to recognize the rich history, heritage, resilience and diversity of First Nations, Inuit and Métis. Before being released into their new home, each turtle receives a blessing at the Toronto Zoo from an Elder or Indigenous Knowledge Keeper.

“Turtles hold special significance for many Indigenous Nations on Turtle Island (what is now called Canada and the United States)” says Jennifer Franks, Director, Indigenous Relations, Toronto Zoo. “I am proud that your Toronto Zoo works to save this endangered species with our partners at the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority and Rouge National Urban Park.”

Turtles appear in many traditional teachings and Creation stories and play an essential role in the Creation story, as the Earth is formed on its back. To hear the story, click the video below.

How we continue to monitor them in the wild?

You may be wondering how we keep track of the turtles if they were released a decade ago? One of the most important aspects of this process is being able to keep tabs on what happens to these juveniles once they leave the Toronto Zoo’s care. Some of the turtles are fitted with small radio transmitters which attach to their shells and allow researchers to monitor their locations, as well as movement patterns, habitat use and behaviour over time. This not only allows scientists to monitor their survival, but also provides invaluable information about their growth rates and how environmental factors like temperature and precipitation play a role in their behaviour.

This is critical information for land managers, so they can restore suitable wetland areas where aquatic animals can thrive. Parks Canada has been working with partners to maintain and restore wetlands throughout Rouge National Urban Park, with the long-term ecological goal of building an interconnected “string of pearls” of wetlands for wildlife like Blanding’s turtles to use.  

Who else is involved in helping the Blanding’s turtles?

This year, the Toronto Zoo Wildlife Conservancy is proud to partner with Ontario Power Generation to advance its efforts under your Toronto Zoo’s Blanding’s Turtle Head-Starting and Reintroduction Program. This partnership ensures that your Toronto Zoo and other program partners can continue to increase the number of endangered Blanding’s turtles in the wild.

“OPG is proud to support the Toronto Zoo’s efforts to restore a self-sustaining population of Blanding’s turtles at the Rouge National Urban Park,” says Jon Franke, Senior Vice President of OPG’s Pickering Nuclear Generating Station. “Across our generating sites and in our communities, we are committed to investing in habitat restoration and protecting Ontario’s vulnerable wildlife populations.

We thank the Toronto Zoo for their important work and hope to see these yellow-chinned species flourishing once again.”

The Toronto Zoo and Parks Canada also work closely with the following organizations:

How can you help the Blanding’s turtles?

Of the 55 juvenile Blanding’s turtles released into Rouge National Urban Park, 38 were adopted and named through the Toronto Zoo Wildlife Conservancy’s Adopt an Animal program. A portion of the funds raised by Adopt an Animal donors support the Blanding’s Turtle Head-Starting and Reintroduction Program.

To support Blanding’s turtles and other wildlife conservation work at your Toronto Zoo to save wildlife and wild spaces, make a gift today by clicking the button below.

Learn more about the process of getting the Blanding's turtles ready for release day by clicking the button below!